MIAMI (ABP) — Anyone listening to Tony Dungy Feb. 4 would have thought Super Bowl XLI was as much about faith as football.
Like he did in days prior to Sunday's “Soul Bowl,” Indianapolis Colts head coach Dungy used every opportunity he could to mention his faith in God and desire to honor him through coaching football.
After the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a 92-yard run to score a touchdown, the Colts came back to beat Lovie Smith's Bears 29-17 in a rain-drenched game in Miami's Dolphin Stadium.
Dungy and Smith both made history, since no African-American head coach had ever led a team to the Super Bowl. But their shared Christian faith far outshone the color of their skin.
“I'm proud to be the first African-American coach to win this,” Dungy said in the post-game ceremony. “But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that.”
Dungy also dedicated the win to black coaches like Jimmy Raye, Sherman Lewis and Lionel Taylor, all of whom he said he knew “could have done this.”
“The Lord gave Lovie Smith and I the opportunity, but we're certainly not the best or the most qualified,” Dungy said. “I just felt good that I was the first one to be able to do it and represent those guys that paved the way for me.”
After accepting the winning trophy, Colts owner Jim Irsay, after mentioning the devastating tornadoes that had recently hit Central Florida, echoed Dungy's sentiment.
“Now there's an awful lot of shining glory, even more than last time up here,” Irsay said. “But we're giving it all to God again because that's what got us here … sticking together and believing that we could, and I know God has looked after us on this journey and bonded us into such a tight family.”
Public response to such overt testaments of faith has been open, even appreciative. Both Dungy and Smith are known for their strong morals, their humble attitudes, and their aversion to swearing and yelling at players. That mentality has come as a welcome change from previous hot-headed coaches like Mike Ditka, Bill Parcells and Vince Lombardi.
After the Feb. 4 game, CBS announcer Jim Nantz told reporters he thought coaches like Dungy and Smith should be able to express their beliefs.
“We allow everybody else to say what they believe, why not them?” he asked. “Have we gotten so jaded in this country that we can't stand to hear the good about a person? If you think that's corny or hokey, then I really feel sorry for you.”
Dungy has served as a mentor to Smith, whom he hired in 1996 to coach linebackers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Tampa Bay, Dungy and Smith had four winning seasons but never made it to the Super Bowl. Dungy told the Associated Press that the long journey was part of the process toward winning in 2007.
“The Lord doesn't always take you in a straight line,” Dungy said. “He tests you sometimes.”
The Colts last won the Super Bowl in 1970, when they played as the Baltimore Colts. It was the Bears' first Super Bowl since Ditka led them to the championship 21 years ago.
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